What I say unto you I say unto all, watch. Mark 13:37

April 21, 2011

Israel and Hezbollah Prepare for War

Hezbollah and Israel are once again facing the void, and both
parties appear to be preparing for another confrontation. According to press
reports, since its 2006 hostilities with Israel, Hezbollah has amassed more than
forty thousand weapons, spread out over one thousand facilities across southern
Lebanon. Once again, these strongholds are reportedly situated in civilian
areas.

Hezbollah has done its homework and believes it is ready to
face its southern neighbor, come what may. For its part, Israel has done a
thorough review of the Second Lebanon War and made traditional and untraditional
military preparations for conflict. Policymakers and analysts alike in
Washington, Paris, London, Beirut, and Jerusalem are beginning to brace
themselves for the spark that will light up the eastern Mediterranean.

Israel pulled out of Lebanon in May 2000 after an occupation
of almost 20 years, not as a result of a peace agreement, cease-fire, or
informal understanding on the status of forces on the border, but as a
unilateral move. Hezbollah and its supporters interpreted the withdrawal as a
milestone in the organization’s development as a military and political force in
Lebanon, and as a resounding victory in its struggle against the “Zionist
entity.” The withdrawal was depicted as a great defeat for Israel, a sentiment
shared by many Israelis. As Hezbollah often claims (with some truth), this was
the “first Arab victory in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict.”

The summer of 2006 paid off for Hezbollah—and other sub-state
actors across the region. Palestinians have adopted Hezbollah’s military tactics
(believing they can get Israel to withdraw from Gaza and the West Bank),
including the use of short-range missiles and hit-and-run operations designed to
draw the IDF into combat in populated areas. This has gradually forced the
IDF—and coalition forces that have troops engaged in places like Iraq,
Afghanistan and Yemen—to change their way of dealing with terrorist
organizations.

Palestinians continue to believe that Israel withdrew in 2000
because of Hezbollah’s ongoing attacks and that they can achieve the same result
in Gaza and the West Bank.

The bad news for groups like Hezbollah and Hamas is that
while they can inflict a tremendous amount of political and economic pain on
Israel, they cannot destroy the Little Satan. But the worst news of all is
reserved for those living in places like Gaza and certain parts of Lebanon,
where Hezbollah and Hamas have already implemented radical shari’a-compliant
regimes.

For its part, Hamas has established the Islamist Republic of
Gaza and runs it based on its founding charter,
which calls for “the reinstitution of the Muslim state … Allah is its goal,
the Prophet its model, the Qur’an its Constitution, Jihad its path and death for
the ca[u]se of Allah its most sublime belief.”

Politically, Hezbollah and Hamas essentially control their
respective jurisdictions; Hezbollah has control over a third of the Lebanese
parliament and veto power over the Lebanese cabinet, and Hamas has outright
control of Gaza. Both are flush with cash from Iran, which funds them to the
tune of close to a billion dollars per annum and provides arms galore.

Do people living in that part of the world wish to live under
an Islamic regime, or would the vast majority prefer a liberal democracy? The
answer can be found in the Western embassies throughout the Arab capitals that
are packed with people trying to emigrate to places that offer a brighter
future.

Many have come to the conclusion that, at the end of the day,
organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas really care not about the people of the
region, but about amassing power and implementing their world-vision.
Ultimately, Hezbollah and Hamas are only paying lip service to destroying the
State of Israel and fighting on behalf of the oppressed. Their raison d’être is
to create radical republics, and their primary tactic of getting there is to
divert people’s attention to the “perfidy” of the Zionist entity.

Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Gaza have effectively
become the front lines of not only the Arab-Israeli conflict, but also the
low-intensity conflict between liberal democracy and those who wish to install
Islamist-compliant regimes. We should be prepared for the battle to continue as
both Hezbollah and Israel gear up for more hostilities. †